A constitutional scholar, a graduate of the most privileged American academic institutions, and a legitimately elected US President, Barack Hussein Obama lives within the long reach of unwarranted, unfounded, unchecked allegations of criminality to which millions of nonwhite folk in America have been subjected for nearly 400 years.

When prophetic rhetoric is not connected to just actions as concrete praxis, the preacher can become much like a social justice avatar—like an online freedom fighter who advocates for justice one click at a time but never engages in the battle for equality offline.

Who gets to decide when violence is acceptable, moral, and even Christian? Who gets to decide that a brick in Baltimore is more violent than—just this week—a police officer’s gun in Louisiana, or, for that matter, a drone in Pakistan?

Despite the “State of Emergency” in America’s “dark ghettos,” he refuses to directly respond to the urgent needs of Blacks who marched on ballot boxes in record numbers to ensure his election and re-election.

As we pause to reflect on the legacy of Dr. King, the commemoration of his life has largely been reduced to ceremonies devoid of the moral and political imperative to continue the struggle for social justice and transformation.